Monday, February 29, 2016

Back in the day say the mid-1980’s Home Meal Replacement
/ Solutions (RMS)
was the talk of the retail food industry. Many research companies and retailers
dismissed RMS as it morphed from a sideshow to the main stage.Foodservice Solutions® team did not.In fact Foodservice Solutions® team and our
own Grocerant Guru® reclassified,
quantified, qualified, and named the Grocerant niche. All while creating a
platform of success with progressive retailers and fresh food
manufactures.

What many legacy grocers failed to
understand was the opportunity for fresh prepared food as a day-part meal
opportunity / solution because most grocery retailers do not believe they are
in the meals business. More important most grocery retailers did not want to be
in the fresh prepared meal business, they wanted to be in ‘fill customers
pantry’ business. The fill the pantry business has long since vanished as have
many legacy grocery chains.

Grocery retailer’s mind-set in the 1980’s
was Home Meal Replacement specifically in store fresh prepared food cost too
much to produce, threw their labor out of line, created scheduling problems,
and had too much wasted food. That same mind-set holds true today for many
legacy grocery retailers today.

Maybe that’s why most legacy grocery
stores continue to struggle driving profitability with grocerant Ready-2-Eat
and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food. Just
look how Kroger stumbled with their new concept Main and Vine. Winn Dixie on the
other hand opened a new customer focus fresh food focused new concept store to find incremental
success and increased customer relevance.

Legacy grocery retailers simply did not
want to deal with fresh prepared food back in the day nor do they today.I guess that is why they cut corners, mass
produced product that they call fresh, packaged it like it was a CPG brand, and
let it sit on display or under heat lamps way to long.In short they blew it then and most are
making the same mistake today.

The pantry business is rapidly
diminishing according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru®. While category
managers can quickly tell grocery retailers what is selling inside their stores,
how to price it, and where to position it.Category managers have no idea where the customers went.Nor can they explain how start-up mail-order
meal-kits companies in three years have annual sale of $1 billion a year.That is pantry disruptive growth, and a
concern for legacy retailers.

In an era of consumer transparency
category management tactics have fallen out of favor with consumers.Or as our Grocerant Guru® put’s it “the
consumer is not stupid, they have figured out what retailers are doing and
dislike any company trying to trick / fool customers into buying a product in
the era of transparence legacy retailers utilizing such tactics will face customer
rebellion.” Fresh prepared Ready-2-Eat
and Heat-N-Eat food has the ‘hallo’ of ‘better for you’ from the consumer
perspective and continues gaining momentum.

Consumers are dynamic not static, the
Grocerant niche continues to grow around the world and our Grocerant Guru® has been leading the
drive for top line sales and bottom line profits within the grocerant niche
since 1991.

Food manufactures are searching for
new, fresh food opportunity and that is something Foodservice Solutions®
continues to excel at. Foodservice
Solutions® Grocerant
Guru™as regular readers of this blog know has
repeatedly stated that “consumers never take step back in food
quality or freshness”.The food retail industry today is no longer at
a crossroad.The consumer has
moved.It’s simply a question within the
legacy grocery retailers if they want to move forward with consumer or
not.

Back in the day it used to be
restaurant chefs were the industry tastemakers and retail eventually playing
copy-cat caught up with the trends. Today many tastemakers come from Grocerant
niche retailers. Yes, the times they are a changing.

Driven by increased demand
and customer migration from cook from scratch to Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat
fresh prepared foodeveryone from Soccer
Mom’s to Senior Citizens are putting pressure on retailers for fresh prepared
food.All retailers are in a fierce
battle to garner a larger share of stomach and the battle for customers is
taking place within the grocerant nice Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh
prepared food space.

Grocery stores are now
playing catch-up with the fast expanding Convenience store sector that is focusing
on Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food.Companies the ilk of Wawa, Sheetz,
and Rutter’s Farm Stores all are finding success with fresh prepared food.Overall convenience stores are doing a better
job within the grocerant niche than legacy grocery stores according to our
Grocerant Guru®.

Seemingly trapped in footprint
malaise traditional grocery retailers are closing stores, capitulating market
share. Success does leave clues and legacy food retailers must adopt a new
view, and new business model, the Grocerant model.Foodservice Solutions® can help any retailer
looking to drive top line sales and bottom line profits within the Grocerant sector.

www.FoodserviceSolutions.usspecializes in outsourced business
development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food
retail segment opportunities for your product or your brand. Foodservice
Solutions of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche since
1991 Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Foodservice
Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson
believes when the “customer moves successful companies move with them.” That is
exactly what Thorntons, the brand once known
for gasoline, candy bars, and tobacco products is doing.Thorntons seeking incremental customer
relevance is now focusing on grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food.

With
183 locations Thorntons has refocused, repositioned, and rolled out a new store design that includes
prepared hot foods, fresh fruits, baked goods, and coffee displays up
front and under the On the Go brand. Focusing on fresh the new hot
sandwiches and pizza, are made in onsite kitchens reinforcing freshness.

This
is no half attempt at Thorntons is focused on each day-part starting with an
oatmeal breakfast bar. Thorntons food is made fresh, but not to order like a
restaurant and that is a clear porint of differentiation built-in to increase
speed of service. It’s ready to grab and go, which happens most often,
representatives said, between 6 and 11 a.m. Clearly, though, by serving fresh
sandwiches and hot pizza, the goal is to push deeper into the day and feed
anyone anytime they’re hungry.

Thorntons
AM day-part extends until the morning menu until 6 p.m. A breakfast burrito will
be an additional staple in all 183 locations by March. Other favorites are a
four cheese and pepperoni pizza, buffalo chicken burrito, various sandwiches
and croissants. Of course to help drive the AM day-part donuts that complement
the extensive fresh coffee offerings.

Success does leave clues.Are you trapped doing what you
have always done and doing the same way?Interested
in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your
retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient
meal participation, differentiation and
individualization?Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Success
does leave clue as doe’s failure.When
the American Customer Satisfaction Index (A.C.S.I.) issued on
Feb. 23 showed a supermarket satisfaction rating of 73, off 4% from its 76 in
2014.Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® was
not surprised stating “legacy grocery stores doing the same thing the same way
when the customer is on the move in not a recipe for success.”

The
grocery stores that are not Looking A Customer Ahead are slipping while companies the ilk ofWegmans, Trader Joe’s, H-E-B and Publix continuing to do well or coming on
strong, while Walmart, Giant Eagle and Albertsons did not measure up
to customer expectations or customer satisfaction, the numbers for those stores
have hit the skids.

Wegmans innovating grocerant
niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food, product mix, and merchandising, is
an example of the importance of a food merchant first, then category management
mentality can drive top line growth and bottom line profits.So it’s no surprise Wegmans actually improved
its score from 85 to 86 (a 1% bump). Trader Joe’s score was 83; H-E-B, 82;
Publix, 82; and discounter Aldi,
81.

The
let’s keep doing what we have always done
and doing it the same way stores who’s dropping scores, including Walmart
(down 6% from 71 to 67). Other “bottom dwellers” on the list were Giant Eagle
(67) and Albertsons (68). The chain falling the furthest was Target, dropping 12% from 81 to 71.

David VanAmburg, managing director
of the A.C.S.I. stated “when consumers put a premium on service and quality,
smaller companies often achieve higher customer satisfaction scores, and it’s
the smaller independent chains that continue to set the bar for supermarkets.”

That
just may be why grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat food start-ups the
ilk of Green Zebra Grocery, Pinkies Liquor, and expanding revived, repositioned
Eatzi’s are thriving, evolving and garnering new customers driving top line
sales and bottom line profits.

Do you understand how to drive top line growth and bottom line profits
within the Grocerant Niche?Looking for
Outside Eye’s for help?Call Foodservice
Solutions® at 253-759-7869 or visit our website at: www.FoodserviceSolutions.us or Email our Global Grocerant Expert at Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us

Friday, February 26, 2016

Ready-2-Eat
and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food is driving sales in the grocery sector deli
by 9% a year according to
IRI’s Chris Dubois. 7-Eleven is not about to shy away
from that growth.So, 7-Eleven Inc. is focusing
in on its breakfast menu with the addition of two new Melt sandwich varieties.

It
is abundantly clear that 7-Eleven is targeting McDonald’s and Burger Kings AM Day-part
with the new offerings.They are a
Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Melt and the Maple Sausage, Bacon and Cheese
Breakfast Melt are now available for a suggested retail price of $2.99 at
participating stores.

Leaving
nothing to chance 7-Eleven is offering a “free Breakfast Melt sandwich with the
purchase of any coffee from Feb. 23-26. Customers who text
"Breakfast" to 711711 will receive a coupon link sent to their
smartphone, with the limit of one per customer.”

The
Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Melt is made with fluffy
egg and topped with thick-cut, hickory-smoked bacon, melted aged cheddar cheese
and garden vegetable cream cheese, while the Maple Sausage, Bacon and Cheese
Breakfast Melt is made with maple sausage and thick-cut, hickory-smoked bacon
and topped with melted aged cheddar cheese. Both come on a fresh artisan
ciabatta roll.

Nancy
Smith, senior vice president of fresh food and proprietary beverage
merchandising for 7-Eleven. Stated "Our goal was to create a high quality,
great tasting toasted breakfast sandwich that is best in class in the market…Through
careful selection of premium ingredients with our partners, I believe we more
than achieved that goal."

Smith
continued "All-day breakfast is heating up at quick-serve restaurants… While
some food outlets are just now realizing the importance of offering all-day
breakfast, 7‑Eleven has long offered its fresh foods — and every product —
morning, noon and night."

Our Grocerant Guru® found that “The universal commonalities in Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat
fresh prepared food are fueling retail success around the globe.” Do you
have a product positioning and pricing strategy? What is your growth
rate? It may be time to think about Outside Eyes from the Grocerant
Guru®.

Invite Foodservice
Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Scorecard or a Grocerant Program
Assessment. Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us of Tacoma, WA
has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven
Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant Contact:
Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us